Smoking, glowing iPhone 4 causes airplane scare

Reports that an Australian regional airline had to extinguish a glowing red iPhone 4 that was emitting "dense smoke" on an airplane have sparked concerns over the handset's battery safety.

Regional Express (REX), the country's largest independent regional airline, said last Friday that a passenger's iPhone was emitting a "red glow" and smoke on a flight from Lismore to Sydney, PC Magreports. A flight attendant extinguished the smoking smartphone and no one was injured during the incident.

Judging by the model number of the device, the handset in question is the GSM version of the iPhone 4. AppleInsider reached out to Apple for comment but has yet to hear back from the company.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority have both been notified of the matter. Though the mishap may prompt an investigation by officials, it does appear to be a relatively isolated occurrence.

The issue does, however, come on the heels of an Apple replacement program for the first-generation iPod nano due to potential battery overheating issues. After first rolling out replacement offers in select countries, Apple initiated the program worldwide earlier this month, noting that the problem is "very rare," though the likelihood of overheating does increase over time.

In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill exempting lithium batteries used in consumer electronics from proposed limitations that would classify the batteries as hazardous materials. According to an analysis commissioned by the Rechargeable Battery Association, the limitations would have cost electronics makers $1.13 billion alone in the first year.

One of the biggest consumer electronic battery scares in recent years occurred in 2006. Sony recalled 9.6 million lithium-ion batteries that year after microscopic metal particles were detected inside the batteries. The incident affected Apple, which had to recall 1.8 million iBook and PowerBook G4 batteries. Sony had also supplied the defective batteries to Dell, Fujitsu, Gateway and Toshiba.

As has been pointed out by readers on other sites, if you look closely the Apple logo is the "Steve Apple" that's become quite famous (an Apple logo with Steve's profile as the bite mark). This looks like a custom back plate and could explain the problem.

Some user modification seems more likely based on the evidence and this never happening before despite millions of iPhone 4's in circulation that have traveled the globe via airplanes.

As has been pointed out by readers on other sites, if you look closely the Apple logo is the "Steve Apple" that's become quite famous (an Apple logo with Steve's profile as the bite mark). This looks like a custom back plate and could explain the problem.

Some user modification seems more likely based on the evidence and this never happening before despite millions of iPhone 4's in circulation that have traveled the globe via airplanes.

Wrong shape at the top to be a Steve logo. It's just a fracture in the glass that makes the indent. Regardless, as you said, millions of 4s sold and this is the only incident of a glowing phone. I too think someone stuck it in the microwave.

1 occurrence out of millions of phones and they haven't even isolated if the phone had ever been dropped, tampered with etc.

Lets wait until we get a battery recall for a batch of 1000+ serials because they might maybe have a battery with a microscopic hole in the battery housing that could perhaps increase and cause the chemicals in the battery to explode, before we start screaming that this is a major issue.

oh and the safety board etc are notified if anything happens on a plane. someone could have a heart attack and they will be notified. a toilet stops up and they are notified. someone's seat ringer doesn't work and they are notified.

Reports that an Australian regional airline had to extinguish a glowing red iPhone 4 that was emitting "dense smoke" on an airplane have sparked concerns over the handset's battery safety.

Regional Express (REX), the country's largest independent regional airline, said last Friday that a passenger's iPhone was emitting a "red glow" and smoke on a flight from Lismore to Sydney, PC Mag reports. A flight attendant extinguished the smoking smartphone and no one was injured during the incident.

Judging by the model number of the device, the handset in question is the GSM version of the iPhone 4. As seen in the photo provided by the airline (below), the user appears to have modified the device, as the Apple logo on the handset has been replaced by a custom logo overlaid with the profile of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. If modifications, such as a custom backplate, were made to the iPhone 4, that could explain the malfunction.

AppleInsider reached out to Apple for comment but has yet to hear back from the company.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority have both been notified of the matter. Though the mishap may prompt an investigation by officials, it does appear to be a relatively isolated occurrence.

Smoking iPhone from REX Flight ZL319, via REX.

The issue does, however, come on the heels of an Apple replacement program for the first-generation iPod nano due to potential battery overheating issues. After first rolling out replacement offers in select countries, Apple initiated the program worldwide earlier this month, noting that the problem is "very rare," though the likelihood of overheating does increase over time.

An iPod nano after a fire. | Image credits: The Consumerist.

In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill exempting lithium batteries used in consumer electronics from proposed limitations that would classify the batteries as hazardous materials. According to an analysis commissioned by the Rechargeable Battery Association, the limitations would have cost electronics makers $1.13 billion alone in the first year.

One of the biggest consumer electronic battery scares in recent years occurred in 2006. Sony recalled 9.6 million lithium-ion batteries that year after microscopic metal particles were detected inside the batteries. The incident affected Apple, which had to recall 1.8 million iBook and PowerBook G4 batteries. Sony had also supplied the defective batteries to Dell, Fujitsu, Gateway and Toshiba.